Learning Lessons

It is clear that the government’s Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF) presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to radically refresh and renew the entire education system in England.

The £45 billion earmarked for the scheme over the next 15 years will not only help to build facilities that inspire and challenge young people, it will also develop an education system that takes advantages of the ICT revolution and new ways of learning.

Overseeing this revolution is Partnerships for Schools (PfS), which works with local authorities and the private sector to deliver the programme of change for England’s 3,500 schools.

“The BSF project means an expenditure of between £2.5 - £3 billion each year and presents an unprecedented opportunity,” says Tim Byles, chief executive of PfS. “We have learned a lot from talking to the private sector, talking to local government and it is quite clear that over the next 15 years we are going to keep on learning.”

With the first BSF school ready to open it’s doors in September, the initial concerns over delays to the project overall are beginning to ease as the projects come on stream at an ever increasing rate:

“We’ve turned a corner,” says Byles. “The speed of delivery is increasing and we’ve just welcomed in the wave four authorities. In terms of waves 1 to 6 there’s about 1,000 schools involved. We anticipate that about 12 new schools will be open by spring next year and around 60 for the following year. Once we’ve reached that level we will be improving around 200 schools per year.”

Part of the reason for the slower than anticipated start was because all the parties involved recognise that the most important element was to make sure that everything was right and working towards the same goals:

“The way the process is set up, involving 150 autonomous local authorities, is different from schemes driven through a command and control structure like in the health system,” says Byles. “What we’ve learned is how to get more certainty in to the programme and also how to be clear about how we can deliver more speedily and ensure that every pupil in an area has the best opportunity. This is not just about building new old buildings.

“Another thing to understand is that PfS is also delivering the Academies Programme - a targeted fast delivery within a coherent strategy and in an effective value for money framework.”

Under the scheme, each local authority is assessed for its suitability to deliver on BSF to enable it to move forward, and PfS works with the authorities to bring them up to speed.

“We make sure the corporate centre is well connected to the corporate root and that the process and negotiations with the private sector are clearly stated in the memorandum of understanding.

“We also work with the authorities to identify what needs to change in the organisation to achieve a plan that can be signed off by ministers as well as being appropriate in the new legislative framework.

“That all means we have a coherent education strategy and greater clarity in going out to the market,” says Byles.
The market needs to understand all aspects of BSF because the private sector partners work with the local authority for up to a ten-year period to transform the schools in an area:

“Getting that relationship right is crucial,” adds Byles.

A key aspect of BSF is, undoubtedly, ICT. The multiple opportunities it brings are a driving factor for all aspects of BSF, including the design of the buildings themselves.

“One thing we do know is that everyone is not going to be sitting in a class with 30 people in it and the buildings and the design of the buildings need to reflect the learning practices of young people and so the design aspect of that is also important.”

However, unlike for the construction sector, in which there are a substantial number of competing consortia, for ICT, the numbers are less impressive: “There are less partners for ICT and from my position it is important that we have the best design so we want to make sure the process is working as effectively as possible.”

The new design approaches are performing crucial functions, helping the next generation of Britain’s children compete on a global level, as Byles explained: “We have looked internationally at different systems, but it’s fair to say that the eyes of the rest of the world are focussed on England. No one is doing work on this scale.

“We’re creating facilities that are inspirational, and not just for pupils that are really academic. We know we’ve succeeded when people are responding and engaging in a way that they weren’t previously. I think it’s a powerful example of where design, space and place can transform a school’s perception of itself and the perception of the community. It can have a community focus and so a major issue for BSF is to get those issues right and make sure the design and the investment deliver facilities that are sensible and appropriate. It also needs to deliver good value for money and is appropriate to the next generation of pupils.”

Increasingly important to BSF is the issue of sustainability, working with different practical options to not only work to reduce the education sector’s carbon footprint, but also to demonstrate to the next generation how sustainable options work in a real world practical situation: “We’re looking to greatly reduce emissions,” says Byles. “Schools contribute about 15 per cent of public sector carbon emissions in this country and we want to help create a culture of environmental responsibility throughout the schools and we want to get as close to carbon neutrality as we possibly can.”

And underpinning all of PfS’s work is its commitment to continuous learning: “It is a journey,” says Byles. “It will continue to be a journey and we are going to have to keep on learning together. And if we all continue to work hard at it, over time it will continue to get better.”